Johnny Smith at Elderly's
- Thread starter skydog52
- Start date
MartyGrass
New member
Among my favorites.
I've handled my share of Gibsons and Heritages in this model. I favor the Heritage #3 pickup. I also like the abalone.
Heritages varied a bit. Some were tap tuned by Aaron Cowles. The others still had the plates carefully carved by masters. Pete Moreno, who knows his stuff, told me that there were four guys who tap tuned at Gibson. Aaron was one. Marv, Will Fuller, and JP Moats, as I recall, were the others. Pete said they each did it a bit differently and agreed to disagree on the best way. So regardless, the result has to be a very high level.
Here is a thread of jazz players' opinions. Consider that Gibson has the aura and legacy that is, well, Gibson. https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guitar-amps-gizmos/72422-heritage-johnny-smith-vs-gibson-johnny-smith.html
Johnny left Gibson in the end due to quality concerns. He was very involved with the Heritage model. My favorite story, told before, is when Johnny visited Heritage to check the appearance of the "rose natural" finish, which was Johnny's choice. Marv showed him different shades of very light pink on wood. Johnny didn't like them and was trying to describe the right shade. He ended up pointing the a Playboy calendar playmate's ass on Marv's wall. He said that's the shade he wants. And that's what he got. A few guitars were bursts. I have one that is a green burst. Most were naturals and rose naturals.
Toward the end, Heritage made at least two 16" Johnny Smiths and two 18" ones. Both of the 18" ones are just perfect. I have not handled a 16" one.
Johnny shifted to Guild for his final run of instruments. There were probably about 18 made. These had a longer scale (25 5/8"), were deeper than the Heritages a bit, and had a ton of lacquer on them.
Some like the Gibson pickup. The Heritage is low output but has a full spectrum without shrill highs.
Johnny Smiths of all persuasions don't come up very often.
I've handled my share of Gibsons and Heritages in this model. I favor the Heritage #3 pickup. I also like the abalone.
Heritages varied a bit. Some were tap tuned by Aaron Cowles. The others still had the plates carefully carved by masters. Pete Moreno, who knows his stuff, told me that there were four guys who tap tuned at Gibson. Aaron was one. Marv, Will Fuller, and JP Moats, as I recall, were the others. Pete said they each did it a bit differently and agreed to disagree on the best way. So regardless, the result has to be a very high level.
Here is a thread of jazz players' opinions. Consider that Gibson has the aura and legacy that is, well, Gibson. https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guitar-amps-gizmos/72422-heritage-johnny-smith-vs-gibson-johnny-smith.html
Johnny left Gibson in the end due to quality concerns. He was very involved with the Heritage model. My favorite story, told before, is when Johnny visited Heritage to check the appearance of the "rose natural" finish, which was Johnny's choice. Marv showed him different shades of very light pink on wood. Johnny didn't like them and was trying to describe the right shade. He ended up pointing the a Playboy calendar playmate's ass on Marv's wall. He said that's the shade he wants. And that's what he got. A few guitars were bursts. I have one that is a green burst. Most were naturals and rose naturals.
Toward the end, Heritage made at least two 16" Johnny Smiths and two 18" ones. Both of the 18" ones are just perfect. I have not handled a 16" one.
Johnny shifted to Guild for his final run of instruments. There were probably about 18 made. These had a longer scale (25 5/8"), were deeper than the Heritages a bit, and had a ton of lacquer on them.
Some like the Gibson pickup. The Heritage is low output but has a full spectrum without shrill highs.
Johnny Smiths of all persuasions don't come up very often.
Gitfiddler
Charter Member
Oh man, that is my dream Heritage!
MartyGrass
New member
Those were probably the only two built. They did go to one person, but I didn't know the guy.
The pickup builder is Ken Rambow. He's also a luthier.
Rob Doolittle also made pickups. He's now is in charge of repairs at Heritage. That's great news for Heritage. Rob is simply a master of all things guitar. He built a single coil pickup that is the same dimensions as the #3 Floating that my Heritage had on it. It has very little hum and has a broad field from the magnets. It's really nice. Ken Rambow also is very gifted.
The pickup builder is Ken Rambow. He's also a luthier.
Rob Doolittle also made pickups. He's now is in charge of repairs at Heritage. That's great news for Heritage. Rob is simply a master of all things guitar. He built a single coil pickup that is the same dimensions as the #3 Floating that my Heritage had on it. It has very little hum and has a broad field from the magnets. It's really nice. Ken Rambow also is very gifted.
